Railroad car retarders



May 12, 1964 Filed Nov. 24, 1961 R. L. WILSON ETAL RAILROAD CAR RETARDERS .5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. ROSSER L. WIL$ON FRED W. CREEDLE. JOHN R. W\LHE.LM

fflmd i ld M y 1964 R; r... WILSON ETAL RAILROAD CAR RETARDERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed. Nam 24 12961 INVENTORS. 1.. wmsou W. CREEDLE. R. \N\LHE M May 12, 1964 R. L. WILSON ETAL 3,132,723

RAILROAD CAR RETARDERS Filed NOV. 24, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS ROSSER L. WILSON F RED W. CREEDLE JOHN R. W\LHE\ M WW, We:

H HJ E.

United States Patent Ofiice 3,132,723 Patented May 12., 1964 3,132,723 RAHJRGAD CAR RETARDERS Rosser L. Wilson, Mahwah, N.J., and Fred W. Creedle,

Park Ridge, and John R. Wilhelm, Chicago, 11]., as-

signors to American Brake Shoe Company, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 154,538 3 Claims. (Cl. 18862) This invention relates to a railroad car retarder and in particular to the construction of cradle elements serving to support the shoes of the retarder.

Railroad car retarders are commonly installed in railroad classification yards, and the purpose thereof is to exert a braking action on a car separated from the train to undergo classification. The retarding force is. sometimes to be afiorded by springs and at other times is to be afiorded by a pressurized fluid system, and the present invention is concerned with the construction of cradle elements which are capable of accommodating-springs on one hand or cylinders on the other hand or both as the source of power for applying the desired retarding action on the wheels of the railroad car. Such construction represents the primary object of the present invention. Related objects of the present invention are to construct a retarder wherein the major portion of the stress and strain is absorbed by cradle elements afiixed to the ties, and to avoid the necessity of utilizing the so-called running rails or trailic rails as the ultimate anchor for the retarder.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principle thereof and what is now considered to be the best mode for applying this principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan, somewhat along schematic lines, illustrating the manner in which a railroad car retarder is to be assembled under and in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views on the lines 3-3 and 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view of a cam for effecting spring adjustment; and

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a spring arrangement for restoring the retarder.

FIG. 1 of the drawings is a fragmentary plan view. of a portion of a railroad classification yard wherein a pair of retarder units 20 and 21 of identical construction are respectively associated with the running rails 20A and 21A. Each of the retarder units, as noted, is of identical construction and hence, that which follows will proceed on the basis of a description of the retarder unit 20. Thus, the retarder unit as 20 includes a pair of elongated retarder shoes in the form of used rails 23 and 24 which are arranged, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, to in effect lie on their sides, and normally the adjacent inner faces 23F and 24F, represented by the heads of the rails 23 and 24, are spaced one from another a distance D, FIGS. 3 and 4, that is less than the width of the car wheel traveling on the associated running rail at 29A. In like manner, the retarder unit 21, FIG. 1, includes a pair of shoes in the form of used rails 27 and 28.

The retarder shoes 23 and 24 are supported as they are by arms, as hereinafter described, which in turn are pivotally mounted on -a cradle support 36, FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The cradle support 30, as best shown in FIG. 2, is adapted to embrace one of the ties T associated with the rails where the retarder of the present invention is installed, and the particular tie T identified in FIG. 2 is identified, as to location, by a like reference character T in FIG. 1. Such a cradle unit will be associa-tedwith every third tie for reasons apparent from what is to follow.

Each cradle 30 includes a top plate 31 of elongated nature as shown in FIG. 3 and adapted to repose on the upper side of the related tie as T. Additionally, each cradle includes a pair of depending flanges or side plates '33 and 34 which are to extend downward along the left and right-hand sides of the tie T so that the upper portion of the tie T is in effect embraced by the plates 31, 33 and 34. The cradle is a unitary one-piece casting capable of easy placement on'the related tie, and it may be noted that each cradle is provided with a plurality of apertures 30A, FIG. 3, enabling the same to be anchored to the tie by spikes, studs or the like.

Cradle elements constructed under and in accordance with the present invention can have either spring arms or cylinder arms interchangeably associated therewith as desired for any particular retarder installation. Depending upon whether springs or cylinders or both are to be used, the retarder arms accordingly be selected. In this connection, it should be pointed out that a cnadle unit 30 will be set on every third tie, and in order that the entire installation can be readily visualized, center lines AA and BB have been indicated in FIG. 1 on opposite sides of the tie T where the cradle 30 will be set, and these center lines are indicated in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each cradle 30 is characterized by four upstanding lugs, there being two such lugs 36 on one side of the trafiic rail as 20A and two such lugs 37 on the other side of the traffic rail. The lugs 36, as shown in FIG. 2, are spaced relatively far apart, being spaced farther from one another than are the plates 3?) and 34. This is also true of the lugs 37 on the opposite side of the rail 20A. The lugis are braced by integral webs 30W.

The lugs 36 are formed with aligned apertures 36A in which a pin 40 is disposed on a horizontal axis on one side of the rail 29A, and the lugs 37 are formed with like apertures in which a pin 41 is disposed to lie parallel to the pin 40 but on the other side of the rail 20A. It will be noted in FIGS. 3 and 4 that the lugs 36 and 37 are relatively wide in a transverse sense and are provided with feet 36F and 37F which virtually abut the adjacent edges of the horizontal base of the related traflic rail as 20A.

The ends of the pins 40 and 41 project outward of the lugs which support the same, as shown in FIG. 2 and cotter pins prevent displacement of the pins when secured. The projected ends of the pins serve to pivotally support arms which in turn support the retarder shoes as noted above. Thus, an arm 4-5, FIG. 2, is supportedon the end of the pin 40 that projects outward of the lefthand one of the pins 36, and a related arm 46 is pivotally mounted on the end of the pin 40 that projects outward of the right-hand lug 36. Each arm is free to swing clockwise or counterclockwise on the related projecting end of the pin.

In like manner, an arm 45A, FIG. 4, is pivotally supported on the end of the pin directly opposite the arm 45 to be paired therewith, being of identical construction to the arm 45. An arm 46A, FIG. 3, is mounted on the end of the pin 41 directly opposite the arm 46 to be paired therewith, being of identical construction in comparison to the arm 46.

The retarder arms above described are disposed generally vertically to the related pins 46 and 41 which themselves extend transverse to the longitudinal axis of the related tie as T. The upper ends of the retarder arms are T-shaped and are provided with spaced apertures as 46 and 49 to be aligned with like apertures as St and 51, FIGS. 3 and 4, formed in the webs of the used rails that aiford the retarder shoes 23 and 24, these openings when registered enabling nut, bolt and washer assemblies to be related thereto in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 to secure the retarder shoes to the retarder arms.

The retarder arms have lower ends extending well below the pins 46 and 41, and these ends of the retarder arms are to have a biasing force exerted thereon normally to dispose the retarder shoes in the wheel grasping position discussed above. Under and in accordance with the present invention, the parts are so arranged that the retarder arms can be selected to be biased either by the spring force or fluid under pressure. For example, it may be desirable to have the retarder arms biased to their retarding position by the action of coil springs on one hand, or by fluid under pressure on the other hand, or perhaps by both. As a further example, it may be desirable to have the retarder arms biased to the position illustrated in FIG. 3 by a coil spring 54 acting between the lower ends of the arms 46 and 46A, while at the same time afiording a hydraulic cylinder 52, FIG. 4, adapted to open or release the retarder after it has been eifective for a predetermined time on a particular car travelling through the retarder units 26 and 21. This latter example serves to illustrate in fact the Wide variety of applications and is an embodiment of the invention to be considered in detail herein.

Thus, the lower ends of the arms 46 and 46A, FIG. 3, are shaped somewhat in the nature of discs 46D, FIG. 2, and are spanned by a tie bolt 55, FIG. 3. The coil spring 5!) is disposed concentric to the shank of the bolt 55 that extends between the arms 46 and 46A, and the free ends of this spring bear against the inner faces of the arms 46 and 46A, or adjusting shims 56 and 57 which may be advantageously provided. The usual spacers and washers are provided as shown in FIG. 3, and the tension of the spring 59 can be adjusted through the nut SSN associated with the bolt 55.

Alternatively, an adjustable cam assembly as 56, FIG. 5, can be set on the bolt 55 between the arms 46 and 46A. This assembly includes two relatively rotatable parts 56A and 56B engaged along a spiral cam mating surface 57. By turning the one part relative to the other, the cam can be expanded to apply more tension to the spring 59, or contracted (if already in an expanded state) to slacken the spring.

The cylinder 52, FIG. 4, includes an extension in the form of a bifurcation 52A adapted to embrace the lower end of the arm Z SA pivotally related thereto in a manner to be mentioned. The cylinder has a piston (not shown) associated therewith having arm 58 threadedly secured at its end to a link 59 and adjustably related thereto through a lock nut SSN. The link 59 in turn is provided with a bifurcated end 59A. which is connected by a pin at) to the lower end of the retarder arm 45, the same sort of pin connection being used to secure the cylinder projection 52A to the lower end of the arm 45A.

The fluid connections to the front and rear parts 521 of the cylinder 52 are not illustrated, since these can be of any desired conventional form, and it suflices to point out that the purpose of the cylinder 52 and its pistonis to exert an opening action on the retarder manifest in the cylinder 52 and the piston arm 58 acting in unison to pull the lower ends of the arms 45 and 36A toward one another in opposition to the return action of the spring 59 which would be undergoing compression. It will be recognized that when the pressure in the cylinder 52 is released after the retarder has been opened, the spring 54] will then be effective to take over and bias the shoes of the retarder to their closed position, separated by the distance D in FIG. 3.

Under circumstances where there is need for virtual instantaneous opening of the retarder after the desired retarding action has been achieved, this can be accomplished by a quick acting spring arrangement efr'ective to open the retarder the instant there is a reversal of flow of fluid in the cylinder 52. In other words, the spring does not possess the inertia and resistance to change possessed by the hydraulic circuit. However, the spring arrangement hereinafter described in connection with FIG. 6 does not supplant but merely supplements the retarder opening action in the cylinder 52.

Thus, referring to FIG. 6, retarder release means ineluding a relatively large, heavy-duty coil spring may be arranged at strategic locations along the length of the retarder illustrated in plan view in FIG. 1. For example, in a typical installation, the spring release means including the spring 79, FIG. 6, may be a forded at both ends of the retarder assembly as well as at the medial portion thereof. The arrangement illustrated in FIG. 6 includes many of the elements described above including a cradle unit 39, and hence these parts need not be redescribed.

The spring 70 is intended to move the retarder rails 23 and 24 quickly to an open or released condition when the biasing force of fluid in the cylinder 52, holding the retarder closed, is removed. In order that this can be accomplished, the cradle unit 36" related to the release spring 79 has associated therewith a pair of retarder arms and 75A that help to support the retarder rails 23 and 24 in the manner described above. The lower ends of the retarder arms 75 and 75A extend downwardly below the lowermost surface of the traflic rail, and a spacer 77 of tubular form is interposed therebetween. A relatively long connector pin 78 is passed through aligned openings in the lower ends of the retarder arms and. through the spacer tube 77.

A boss or stop 88 is secured to one end of the pin 78', and at this end of the pin a tapered or cone-shaped guide 81 is set thereon, being interposed between the stop 89 and the adjacent outer face of the lower end of the retarder arm 75.

It will be observed that the pin 78 projects for a substantial distance outward of and beyond the lower end. of the left-hand retarder arm 75A. The coil spring 70 is arranged concentrically about this projecting portion of the pin 7 8. A stop nut 84 is run up on the left-hand end of the pin 78, and a plurality of spacer shims 85 are arranged about the pin 73 inwardly of the nut 84. A guide 86 similar to the guide 81 is interposed between the shims 85 and the outwardmost end of the spring 70, whereby the spring 70 is active on the guide 8 the spacers 85 and the nut 84.

The opposite or right hand end of the spring 70 as viewed in FIG. 6 reacts on a guide 88, and tends to press the latter against a pack of spacing shims 8% which in turn are interposed between the guide 88 and the outermost face of thelower end of the retarder arm 75A.

The spring 70 is effective in this manner. First of all, it is to be noted that the retarder as illustrated in FIG. 6 is shown in a state where the hydraulic cylinder 52 has moved the same to the wide open or released position so that the rails 23 and 24 do not exert a retarding action'on a car wheel that might be disposed therebetween. Therefore, the next movement of the retarder would be one wherein the cylinder 52 would be effective to move the retarder rails 23 and 24 close to one another, characterized by clockwise movement of the left-hand retarder arm or lever 75A and cormterclockwise movement of the righthand arm 75. This would cause the lower ends of the levers 75 and 75A to move away from one another, thereby causing the spring 79 to become compressed. Therefore, when the retarder is effective to exert a braking action on a car wheel, this is manifest in the spring 70 being compressed Now then, when the hydraulic connections to the cylinder 52 are reversed to in effect remove the biasing action, the spring 70 is instantly effective to take over and expand since there is no hydraulic block, and this moves the retarders instantly toward the position illustrated in FIG. 6, although in the meantime the reversed connections in the cylinder would have caught up.

It will be recognized from the foregoing that the present invention facilitates the construction and installation of railroad car retarders, and in particular makes possible the construction of a retarder that includes only a few operating parts.

Hence, while we have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a railroad car retarder having retarder shoes to be positioned above and on opposite sides of a traffic rail; a cradle of one-piece construction comprising a top plate in a horizontal plane set on the top of a tie that supports the traific rail and secured thereto so that the forces arising in use of the retarder are transmitted through said cradle to the tie; a pair of laterally spaced apertured lugs included as part of said one-piece cradle and projecting upward from the plate and formed integral therewith in position to be on one side of said rail; another pair of laterally spaced apertured lugs projecting upward from the plate included as a part of said one-piece cradle and formed integral therewith in position to lie on the other side of said rail; a pair of side plates included as a part of said one-piece cradle and spaced laterally from one another to embrace the opposite vertical sides of said tie; a pair of support pins disposable in the apertures in said lugs to extend parallel to said rail and with end portions thereof projected outward of said lugs to lie outward of the vertical sides of the tie on which said cradle is set; two pairs of arms related pivotally to the end portions of the pins, each on opposite sides of the rail, said arms being generally T-shaped in form and having crossheads for supporting the retarder shoes above and on opposite sides of said rail, and having lower ends extended below said lugs; means for preventing endwise displacement of said arms off the projected ends of said pins; and means associated with the lower ends of said arms on opposite sides of said tie below the rail for applying a biasing force thereto which rotates said arms about said pins and determines the distance between the retarder shoes in relation to a railroad car wheel on the traflic rail.

2. A retarder according to claim 1 wherein the lastnamed means includes a coil spring acting between the lower ends of one pair of arms on one side of the tie to urge the retarder shoes to a closed position, and a piston and cylinder combination acting between the lower ends of the other pair of arms on the other side of said tie to open the retarder shoes against the return action of said spring.

3. A retarder according to claim 2 wherein a coil spring, projecting outwardly of the cradle, is arranged to be compressed when the retarder is in a closed position, and is effective to assist the piston and cylinder in opening the retarder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 315,973 Strong Apr. 14, 1885 1,852,572 Howe Apr. 5, 1932 2,233,903 Statlcr Mar. 4, 1941 2,238,772 Clausen Apr. 15, 1941 2,285,327 Brown June 2, 1942 2,947,385 Devaney Aug. 2, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 144,033 Australia Oct. 31, 1951 

1. IN A RAILROAD CAR RETARDER HAVING RETARDER SHOES TO BE POSITIONED ABOVE AND ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A TRAFFIC RAIL; A CRADLE OF ONE-PIECE CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A TOP PLATE IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE SET ON THE TOP OF A TIE THAT SUPPORTS THE TRAFFIC RAIL AND SECURED THERETO SO THAT THE FORCES ARISING IN USE OF THE RETARDER ARE TRANSMITTED THROUGH SAID CRADLE TO THE TIE; A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED APERTURED LUGS INCLUDED AS PART OF SAID ONE-PIECE CRADLE AND PROJECTING UPWARD FROM THE PLATE AND FORMED INTEGRAL THEREWITH IN POSITION TO BE ON ONE SIDE OF SAID RAIL; ANOTHER PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED APERTURED LUGS PROJECTING UPWARD FROM THE PLATE INCLUDED AS A PART OF SAID ONE-PIECE CRADLE AND FORMED INTEGRAL THEREWITH IN POSITION TO LIE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID RAIL; A PAIR OF SIDE PLATES INCLUDED AS A PART OF SAID ONE-PIECE CRADLE AND SPACED LATERALLY FROM ONE ANOTHER TO EMBRACE THE OPPOSITE VERTICAL SIDES OF SAID TIE; A PAIR OF SUPPORT PINS DISPOSABLE IN THE APERTURES IN SAID LUGS TO EXTEND PARALLEL TO SAID RAIL AND WITH END PORTIONS THEREOF PROJECTED OUTWARD OF SAID LUGS TO LIE OUTWARD OF THE VERTICAL SIDES OF THE TIE ON WHICH SAID CRADLE IS SET; TWO PAIRS OF ARMS RELATED PIVOTALLY TO THE END POR TIONS OF THE PINS, EACH ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE RAIL, SAID ARMS BEING GENERALLY T-SHAPED IN FORM AND HAVING CROSSHEADS FOR SUPPORTING THE RETARDER SHOES ABOVE AND ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID RAIL, AND HAVING LOWER ENDS EXTENDED BELOW SAID LUGS; MEANS FOR PREVENTING ENDWISE DISPLACEMENT OF SAID ARMS OFF THE PROJECTED ENDS OF SAID PINS; AND MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID ARMS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID TIE BELOW THE RAIL FOR APPLYING A BIASING FORCE THERETO WHICH ROTATES SAID ARMS ABOUT SAID PINS AND DETERMINES THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE RETARDER SHOES IN RELATION TO A RAILROAD CAR WHEEL ON THE TRAFFIC RAIL. 